Coaxial connectors provide an inner or signal conductor coaxially disposed within an outer conductor both having precisely controlled radii having a common axis, with dielectric material disposed therebetween. Certain coaxial connectors are mountable to circuit boards, with the signal conductor electrically connected to a signal circuit of the board and the outer conductor electrically connected to a ground path on the board, and the electrical connections are commonly achieved by soldering. One such connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,271. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,267, a plurality of similar board-mountable coaxial connectors are secured to a mounting bracket that is affixed to a circuit board along an edge thereof, with each coaxial connector extending through a panel cutout at an input/output port of an electronic apparatus.
One such coaxial connector is commercially available from AMP Incorporated, sold as "F" Connectors under Part No. 415024-2. The outer conductor is a metal block housing that houses the inner conductor within a sleeve of dielectric material, and extends to a board-mount end and an opposing mating end defining an elongate threaded cylinder protruding substantially beyond the board edge that extends through a panel cutout and onto which a mating connector will be threadedly attached. The housing of such a connector would include downwardly facing surfaces of portions of the large rearward housing section to lie along that portion of the board surface adjacent the board edge prior to soldering, easily providing the outer conductor connecting sections solderable to ground circuits of the board. The inner conductor extends rectilinearly rearwardly, also aligned to lie along the board surface to be electrically connected to a signal path of the board. To optimize impedance matching in coaxial connectors, the enlarged rearward housing section is desired not only to surround the inner conductor but also to be substantially similar in cross-section to the cross-section of the mating coaxial connector; therefor, portions of the housing must extend below the surface of the circuit board onto which it is to be mounted, requiring a recess formed to extend into the board from the board edge sufficient to provide a clearance for the bottom half of the enlarged housing forwardly of the termination of the inner conductor to the signal path.
It is desired to provide a coaxial connector that is adapted to facilitate mounting to a circuit board utilizing automated assembly techniques including robotic pick-and-place equipment for accurately positioning the connector at a mounting site along a board edge, followed by soldering at a different work station to define the necessary electrical connections to the circuit board.